


Ruffled Feathers and Smooth Stitches

by Succulent_Skittles



Series: Sew and Tell [1]
Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Gender Neutral Farmer, I'm not a great writer but had to write this, Shane's 6 heart event, can be platonic or ronantic, drinking implied, soft fluffiness at the end, suicide implied, winter is boring in game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24730945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Succulent_Skittles/pseuds/Succulent_Skittles
Summary: Max is bored over winter, so when Emily offers to teach them to sew, they jump at the chance...especially when it crosses their mind that they can patch up the local chicken man's hoodie.Gender neutral farmer who's never described,  can be seen as platonic or romantic. For the Welcome To Stardew! Discord server.
Series: Sew and Tell [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1790758
Kudos: 18





	Ruffled Feathers and Smooth Stitches

**Author's Note:**

> Shane's 6 heart event is glossed over in this fic, so please be careful if suicide is a trigger.
> 
> First time writing a gender neutral character, so if I made mistakes, let me know so I can fix them. 
> 
> Typed up on mobile b/c i have no internet right now, but may edit or redo later.

If Max were to describe winter in one word, it would be boring.

There were no crops to worry about, it was too cold to fish for long-they'd tried, but their hands ended up numb before long since they couldn't find gloves thin enough to work well with their current fishing pole-thankfully, they'd been able to fumble a pair on and strap their pole to their backpack, digging a thermos of coffee out to warm their hands.

The last thing they needed was to have to drag themselves to the clinic to get scolded by Harvey. 

Again. 

He was already prone to scolding when they got hurt in the mines, the last thing they need is to give him something else to scold them about.

With a sigh, they sip their coffee, wiggling their stiff fingers a bit before tucking the thermos back in their bag. Might as well head home and dump the slimy fish in the bin for Lewis to collect later-they can see what's on tv again, or read, or start planning for next season.

It was only when they'd turned to go from the bin to their front door that they caught sight of their coop-they'd completely forgotten to go check on their animals this morning, somehow. With a sigh, they changed their path, making sure the tiny door was secure before stepping inside, grateful for the gentle warmth radiating from the heater in the corner.

A quick scan showed that they had food, the water was clean, and a quick pet or nuzzle for each confirmed they were all happy. All that was left was to collect the eggs-and the wool from their new rabbit. Max grins, given the rabbit in question-Trix, of course, as an almost loving reference for the fruity cereal's commercials growing up-an extra pat before heading up to the cabin.

They're pretty sure they saw directions on how to build a loom in those old papers they'd found in the rafters after the upgrade-might give them something to do, and Yoba knows they could use that right now.

\--

In the end, they had a loom ready by dinnertime. The fiber they'd thrown in a chest at the end of fall was just enough, and while they did need to go chop down some more wood, it let them forage and grab some maple syrup they'd set up a tapper for, the rest of the day spent sanding things, cutting them to the right size, and sealing it off to insure no snags. A dab of oil and it spun smoothly, and they lean back on their heels, grinning-though a loud rumble from their stomach reminds them they haven't eaten since the field snack and coffee this morning. 

Pushing themselves up, they nudge the loom to by the couch, getting the wool situated before going to warm up a bowl of the chowder they'd made after Willy sent the recipe in the mail last week, leaning against the counter while they waited.

What to do with cloth...they don't know how to sew, but they know Emily does. Maybe they could give it to her? She'd mentioned it's hard to get good cloth here, and while they doubt their first would be 'good', maybe she'll know how they can improve? The thought makes Max happy, both because it's something they can talk to their friend about and because it's something to do over winter. Maybe she can even teach them to sew?

The microwave dings, startling them from their thoughts-they were getting ahead of themselves, they haven't even  _ made  _ the cloth yet. They should probably do that before thinking about learning to sew, and who knows how long that would take?

A glance at the clock says it's already nine-if they wanna get to bed at a reasonable time, they need to either get started now or wait till tomorrow.

It only takes their cat, Noodle, looking at the loom a bit too curiously to decide, gulping down the last of their dinner and moving their lamp closer.

First try at cloth, here we go.

\--

Max groans at the sound of their alarm going off, arm flailing to hit it-only to fall off the couch, alarm still blaring in their room. It takes a moment, before they remember-they'd finished their attempt at cloth close to two in the morning, managing to fold it and put it in a chest before they collapsed on the couch, too tired to make it to bed. If it wasn't for the whole falling off the couch thing, they'd think it was funny.

Maybe in a few hours it would be-but for now, they just trudge to their room, shutting off the alarm and getting themselves ready for the day.

They barely make it out the door before they run into Emily, a white sweater pulled over her usual red dress to guard against the cold.

"Max, hi!"

"Emily! Perfect timing, I was just thinking about coming by to see you!" Max smiles, gesturing for the blue haired girl to follow them inside, Noodle coming over to rub up against her in greeting. "I actually just attempted making cloth last night, thought you might know how good it turned out, how I can improve-that sort of thing"

A soft laugh bubbles up behind them, and the gentle sound of the loom's wheel turning. "That explains the loom-I'm guessing Trix produced some wool?"

"Yea! Took a while to make the loom, since I needed more wood, but I think it turned out ok" They grin, getting the cloth out of the chest to show her-in the morning light, it doesn't look too bad-not perfect, for sure, but there's no obvious snags or holes. Max considers that a win for now.

"It looks pretty good! If you want, you can come by and use my sewing machine any time. I can show you how to use the dye pots too, if you like?"

It was something Max had thought about, but…

"Can you teach me a bit about hand sewing too? So I don't have to be in the way all the time."

"Sure! Sewing by hand's good for doing decorations too, I can show you some patterns to try out if you want. Flowers, or fruits, or animals"

At 'animals', Max perks up a bit-that gives them an idea. Now they just need to practice-good thing they've got cloth, and hopefully more wool from their rabbit in the future, and two more weeks worth of winter to try. 

Time to learn how to sew a chicken.

\--

Max will deny it to the end of days, but they have a chest that's practically full to bursting with their practice from that winter. Their routine becomes wake up, check animals, collect eggs and wool, make cloth-they're getting better at it, it only takes two or three hours now, and then practicing.

Countless bolts of cloth, covered in chickens of assorted sizes, messy at the beginning but growing smoother, more tidy despite the slightly ruffled feathers, some with manufactured rips that have been carefully stitched smooth, the first tries messy and lumpy but later ones smooth, only noticeable if you really  _ looked _ for it. They even run to Emily's with a backpack of cloth and dye supplies, borrowing Sam's hat from work and getting the cloth and thread the exact right shade of blue to make sure they can still keep things smooth and tidy this way.

It was going perfectly...until the first rainy day of spring.

\--

Max had been running all over-fishing, and picking up an upgraded tool, and stopping by Pierre's to get more seeds. They'd checked the saloon for Shane-they'd mastered pepper poppers and wanted to let him try them-but he wasn't there. Concerned, they headed towards the ranch, but when he wasn't there, they headed towards the cliff-thinking, in the moment, that he just was on his own, and they'd see him tomorrow.

That was when they heard a groan, and the faint  _ crunch _ of a can. 

It takes them only a moment to process, and then-they run, slipping on wet leaves and almost falling on their butt before they get to Shane, laying on his stomach and surrounded by beer cans.

This can't be good, and that much is clear when Shane peers up at them, drunkenly asking why he shouldn't let himself roll off the cliff.

It broke their heart, and they said the only thing they could think of that didn't feel like an empty platitude, something without meaning.

"No matter what, I'll be here for you Shane"

It must have been the right thing to say, because after a few moments, he asks to be taken to the hospital.

It wasn't easy, but they managed, going slow and getting him help, staying by his side as long as they could, until Harvey pulled them aside to talk and then sent them home, saying that he needed to talk to Shane alone.

There wasn't a choice in that-but Harvey promised to urge Shane to come see them when he felt better. 

That would have to be good enough.

\--

It took a few days. Max had hoped Shane would come by in the morning, but when he didn't, they gave him that space-didn't search him out, or hang out at the ranch-just sent a text that said 'Hope you're doing ok. I'm here when you're ready to talk'

\--

When Shane does come by, it's a sunny morning and his hands are shoved in the pockets of his ripped up hoodie, the one that Max's fingers itch to take and work their hard-won skills on, but he's smiling, a little.

"Hey Max...Harvey said that you were pretty worried about me. I'm...sorry it took so long to stop by" One hand comes up to tug on the drawstring of his hoodie.

"It's ok, I understand. I'm just glad you're ok-I didn't wanna push you before you were ready" Max intends it to lighten things, a smile crossing their lips, but it only makes Shane frown.

"I....must've been pretty bad, huh? I….don't remember much. Might be for the best, yea?" He pauses, before he adds, almost hesitantly "Harvey put me in touch with a therapist in Zuzu city. She does phone calls or video chats if you can't get to the office"

"That's good! I hope that goes well-I think…..I think.....I think it'll help. But no matter what, I'm here for you, ok?"

"I know. Thanks, Max"

  


\--

  


Before long, Shane's text them to come over, and they barely pause, throwing their sewing supplies into their bag and heading to the ranch, a happy Jas leading them back to the door they'd never been through-just in time to walk in on Shane cuddling a chicken, making Max grin. 

Shane's clearly happy like this, and talks for a bit about a legacy for Jas-the blue chickens, though how he managed that remains a mystery-but for the moment, Max just sits on the bale of hay and sets their backpack down.

"Hey Shane. Give me your hoodie"

Shane's clearly confused, but obliges, settling Charlie in his lap to wiggle out of his hoodie and toss it over-and it's weird.

They've never seen Shane without his hoodie and they don't think they like it, but for now, they get to work, asking questions about chickens to distract him-the way his face lights up is enough, but hearing him talk about something he's so passionate about is something they want more often.

  


It's more than enough to distract Shane while they carefully rip off the Jojamart logo, the rips smoothed over by then, and a careful mental outline drawn.

  


They're halfway done before Shane actually asks what they're doing, and a soft laugh spills out.

  


"Shane, let me just finish this for you, please? It's not gonna be a surprise if I tell you"

  


There's a moment of hesitation, before he huffs, smiling, and lets the topic change to the upcoming egg hunt, how hard the hens have been working, and Max finishes without missing a beat about how they deserve the best sweet corn, prompting mock offense from Shane.

  


"You said the same thing last year, chicken man" Their voice is teasing as they finish the last stitch, making sure there's no stray threads before passing it back to him.

  


"Learned how to sew over the winter. Had to patch up those rips and replace that awful logo with something you actually liked."  


**Author's Note:**

> The mental image that sparked this was the result of a joking comment about Sanshee's Shane plushie not having a ripped hoodie.
> 
> Shoutout to M. Frogmodius, >:3c, chance!!!!!!!!, and darning dreams for their help [I very much hope I didnt miss anyone, I'm sleepy and thus can't focus much.]


End file.
